Referral Activities    

Referral is a formal, ongoing process for reviewing information related to learners who possibly have disabilities and show potential signs of needing special education services. Assessment referral is the process of looking at a learner’s screening information and making a decision about whether or not to conduct a formal educational assessment.

Key Topics: Length of Time for Prereferral Interventions Procedures for Receiving Referrals Student Support Teams Non-Special Education Referrals Infant and Toddler Referral Limited English Speaking Families 2.1 Assessment

Determination
2.1.1 Documentation of Prereferral Interventions
Before a student is referred for a special education assessment, the district must conduct and document at least two instructional strategies, alternatives, or interventions while the pupil is in the regular classroom. The student’s teacher must provide the documentation. A special education assessment team may waive this requirement when they determine the student’s need for the assessment is urgent. This section may not be used to deny a student’s right to a special education assessment. (M.S. 126.237)

Once the presenting problem is identified by general education staff, it is necessary to conduct referral interventions. Pre-referral interventions are planned, systematic efforts by regular education staff to resolve apparent learning or behavioral problems. The design and outcome of these interventions must be documented. Several intervention forms are available for district use.

Prereferral interventions are the responsibility of general education teachers with the support and consultation of the principal, special education teachers, school psychologist, school social worker, and other specialists. This process is typically conducted by a student support team. The student support team needs to develop criteria and indicators to determine whether or not an intervention is successful. At least two prereferral interventions are required before a special education assessment may be conducted. There may be an exception only if the parent requests an assessment and/or if there is some urgency in the student's situation.

At prereferral, general education staff has the responsibility of informing the parent prior to seeking the assistance of the student support team. They should let the parent know there are concerns and give the parent an opportunity to share information that may have bearing on the student's problems. it is conceivable that the general education teacher may gain insight from parents that makes it no longer necessary to refer the student. It is critical that parents are involved early in the process so that trust with the staff and school district is developed and nurtured.

Length of Time for Prereferral Interventions
Generally, before referring a student for learning problems, there needs to be documentation of the interventions tried, over at least a 30-day school period, by the regular education staff. Before referring a student for behavioral reasons, the documentation of interventions used in the regular classroom should generally occur over a six-month school period. Sometimes these interventions may have been started in the previous grade and continued the following year.

Even when the classroom teacher decides not to refer a student for special education assessment, the documentation should be placed in the student’s cum file so that a history of academic difficulties may be established for possible later referral.
2.2 Nonpublic and Interagency Referral
2.2.1 Procedures for Receiving Referrals

All children with disabilities residing in the district, including children with disabilities attending private schools, must be identified, located and evaluated. Each district has procedures for receiving referrals on learners, from birth to 21 years old, who are known to need or who are suspected of needing special education services, from parents, physicians, private and public programs, and local educational, health and human services agencies.

Local health, education, and social service agencies shall refer children under age five who are known to need or are suspected of needing special instruction and services to the school district. (M.S. 120.17 Subd.1)

Student Support Teams
General education teachers can effectively meet some of the needs of many students with learning and behavior problems within the general education classroom. Situations arise, however, when a teacher needs a support system to help with students who present unique learning and adjustment problems. Student support teams may assist general educators in solving these problems by determining appropriate prereferral interventions. Prereferral interventions help determine if the student's learning problem is specific to the student or a result of the method of instruction or other classroom variables. A prereferral team meeting is particularly important in creating a partnership between the school and family; it is an opportunity to collect information about the student.

In districts without student support teams, referrals should be given to whomever has been designated by the district to facilitate the referral process. In districts with student support teams, the team is generally composed of regular education teachers, counselor, school nurse, building principal and others as appropriate such as licensed special education personnel, speech clinician and school psychologist. Some districts have combined the functions of the team to include Section 504 referrals as well as referrals for special education. Those teams may have a somewhat different mix of special and regular education personnel.

Student Support Team Process
When general education resources are unable to resolve the presenting problem, the referral should be given to the student support facilitator to be discussed at the next student support meeting. The facilitator is responsible for ensuring that the learner’s cumulative file, health record, etc. are made available for the meeting. The review of existing data is the first step of required parent involvement under IDEA '97. The team must make a determination, given the presenting problems and data gathered to date, whether a referral for a special education assessment is warranted. If deemed necessary, the student is formally referred for a special education assessment and the parent's written permission is required in order to proceed.

The function of the student support team is to:
• Behaviorally clarify the presenting problem;
• Pull together and consider existing information as it relates to the presenting problem;
• Gather additional information within the general education setting utilizing general education personnel and/or procedures; and
• Determine appropriate course of action in attempting to resolve the presenting problem.
• May act as a vehicle for completing assessment determination forms when special education assessment seems appropriate.
The student's parent must be provided an opportunity to participate in this review. Best practice would suggest that the parent be contacted by phone prior to sending a Notice of a Team Meeting in order to schedule a convenient date.
For children birth to age seven suspected of having a hearing or vision disability, the team must include a licensed teacher in each area of suspected sensory impairment.

2.2.2 Procedures for Making Non-Special Education Referrals
When pre-referral interventions have failed to resolve the presenting problem but the solution does not appear to involve Section 504 or special education, referral may be made for non-special education services. Sources of potential referrals include, but are not limited to:
• Referral to the school counselor, school social worker, or school psychologist;
• Referral for Chapter 1 services, Assurance of Mastery or other tutorial services; and/or
• Referral to community-based services (i.e., mental health, medical, social services, etc.).
2.3 Infant and Toddler Referral
2.3.1 Referral Procedures
Each district is a member of an Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC) which has established a referral procedure that utilizes the public health nursing service in each county as the central intake point for referrals on children who may be eligible for an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individual Education Plan (IEP). An IFSP is a written plan for providing services to a child and the child’s family through interagency agreements. The procedural and program requirements for the IFSP are the same as for an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Referrals on preschool age children should be made to the district’s county Nursing Service for processing (with the exception of "speech only" referrals). In order to assure timely processing of those referrals, which will likely involve a full school assessment, a best practice would be to also contact the Assistant Director of Special Education with the information so that the due process timelines can be met.

The following referral system was developed with input from the Interagency Early Intervention Committee:
• Referrals are received by the county public health nursing service from the local tracking team, parent, Head Start, public schools, social service agencies, day care programs, public health facilities and other health providers.
• The interagency coordinator from public health nursing has initial contact with the parent to explain the referral and assessment process. During that visit, information is gathered regarding the child’s growth and development, medical history, family history, and issues of concern to the family. A release of information is obtained from the family so that this information can be shared with other agency team members.
• If determination is made that the child may be eligible for special education services, because of a substantial delay or disorder in development or have an identifiable sensory, physical, mental or social/emotional condition or impairment known to hinder normal development, the coordinator contacts the assistant special education director or designee, within two working days after meeting with the family. At that time, a service coordinator shall be appointed. Mailing the intake information and any additional reports to the service coordinator follows up the conversation. The interagency coordinator will contact the agency members identified at the initial meeting with the family to set up a team meeting to start the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP).

Limited English Speaking Families
If the family is bilingual, the special education director or assistant director should be contacted to assist you with the due process procedures when conducting a minority assessment. See Request For Interpreter form.
For your information: In Minnesota, a Limited English Speaking (LEP) learner is defined as a learner who:
1. first learned a language other than English; comes from a home where the language usually spoken is other than English; or usually speaks a language other than English; and
2. scores significantly below the district average for learners of the same age on the reading and language arts subtests of a nationally normed achievement test. Teacher evaluation of skills in understanding, speaking, reading and writing should also be considered.

Communicating with Parents Who are Limited English Proficient
Federal laws and state rules require schools to inform all parents of their special education due process rights. This includes parents who do not speak English or who use another communication mode. This necessitates the use of translations and interpretations for parents who are not fluent in English. The underlying goal of federal laws and rules is to enable parents to provide informed consent. In order to give informed consent, parents must receive information in a manner that they can understand. Informed consent also increases school/parent cooperation and understanding. In order to meet the intent of the law, schools should think about both the language of the parent and the best methods of communication
One method of communication is to use the written translations of due process materials. These are available by contacting the BRIC office. Parents, however, have varying abilities to speak and read their native language and English. For example, some parents are highly literate in their native language but do not speak or read in English. These parents can benefit from translated forms. Other parents may speak some English as well as their native language but not read in either. Oral interpretation may be more meaningful to these parents.
Parents Do Not Want An Interpreter
Many adults in Minnesota who are native speakers of another language are very fluent in English. However, cultural values, personal pride and the desire to not create a burden for the school may lead some parents to claim a greater degree of English proficiency than they actually possess. There may be situations where the parents refuse the right to an interpreter, but staff members suspect that they do not fully understand the complex information being presented. In these cases, districts may wish to try the following steps. In all cases, it is important for the school staff and parents to take some time to get to know each other and develop a trusting relationship.
• Consult with the ESL staff. These staff members usually have the greatest knowledge of the family's circumstances and may be able to mediate.
• Consider whether the parents have a conflict with one particular interpreter. There are sometimes issues of dialect, ethnic group or clan affiliations that make a given interpreter unacceptable to a family. There may be concerns over confidentiality. Gender can also be an issue. For example, it may be inappropriate for a male interpreter to ask a mother very personal questions about her child's birth and development.
• Explain to parents that special education can be very complicated and that many English speaking parents have trouble understanding it.
• Explain that the school needs help to understand their language and culture. Place responsibility for communication barriers on the school rather than on the family.
• Consider the best interest of the child. Is the school missing critical pieces of information that can only be obtained from the family via an interpreter? It is important to be sensitive, but the student' interests may override those of the parents.
• Remember that having an interpreter does not guarantee good communication if the parents and the school do not have a good relationship.

Parents are Unable to Read
Because of lack of opportunity for education, some parents of ESL students are unable to read or write in their native language. Districts should provide oral interpretation in these cases so that parents can be involved in their child's education in a meaningful way. Even when parents are unable to read, districts are advised to have their interpreter use the translated due process forms. This is recommended for the following reasons.
• In many languages, there are no exact equivalents of special education terms. Different interpreters may use different words to explain special education concepts. Using the written translations can help increase consistency in interpretation. This is especially true if the interpreter is not trained in special education.
• Interpretation of special education documents from English into another language is complex and time consuming. Using the translated forms should greatly simplify the interpreter's task.
It is also helpful to tape record oral interpretations of special education materials. Special education is complex and the information shared at team meetings can be difficult to absorb in one sitting. A tape recording would give parents the chance to listen to the information several times to refresh their memory.

General Principles for Working with an Interpreter
Many skills are needed by interpreters and translators. It is equally important for monolingual English speakers who use an interpreter to have knowledge and skills for their role. Monolingual staff should try to work with the interpreter as a team whose goal is to communicate as effectively as possible. English speakers can make sure things go smoothly by:
• Talking with the interpreter ahead of time to explain the purpose of the meeting and discuss the interpreter's role
• Avoiding excessive use of jargon, slang or idioms
• Explaining any technical terms or jargon that must be used
• Speaking clearly and pause for interpretation after every 3 or 4 sentences
• Speaking directly to the parents using first person language (say "what do you think about..." instead of "ask the parents what they think about...") This makes the interpreter's work much easier and also shows respect to the parents.
It is important that the interpreter:
• Understands the purpose of the meeting
• Understands that he/she should interpret or translate precisely and completely
• Understands data privacy laws and the importance of confidentiality
• Is fluent in English and in the native language or dialect spoken by the family
• Is not biased toward the student or family because of personal, ethnic or linguistic reasons
• Has good interpersonal communication skills
Limited English Proficient Families and Due Process Documentation
The following are a variety of steps that schools can use to communicate with families and provide due process documentation.

Procedure Documentation
1. Offer translations of written materials and oral interpretation to all parents when the home language questionnaire and other information indicate that the parents speak a language other then English Contact BRIC for a sample form to document that translation and interpreting services were offered. It is also sufficient to place a written note in the special education file.
2. If parents are able to read in a language other than English, districts may comply with due process requirements by utilizing the translated forms. Provide oral interpretation at team meetings. Put copies of translated forms in due process file. Make note of the presence of an interpreter by including their name on due process forms where applicable or by noting their involvement in meeting notes.
3. If the parents are unable to read in their native language or in English, utilize oral interpretation. An interpreter should call or meet with the family to explain notices as they are sent out. In addition, an interpreter should attend meetings. There should be some form of documentation that written materials were interpreted into the native language. Contact BRIC for sample forms. Attach this form to an ASR or IEP. In addition, the interpreter should be listed on due process forms and in meeting notes. In addition, school are recommended to tape record oral interpretations so that parents can review the information as needed.
4. If parents are able to read in their native language but translated forms are not available, schools have two choices: (1) contract with an individual to prepare a written translation; (2) provide oral interpretation. See #2 and 3 above.
5. If parents are able to read and comprehend English and if they refuse the offer of translation and interpretation, districts may use English language materials. See item #1 above.

Funding for Interpreters
Special education laws and rules specifically require schools to communicate with parents in their native language. State and federal special education funds may therefore be used to pay interpreters who help carry out due process requirements ( including implementation of IEP's). Schools can either employ staff or contract for these services. Employees should be claimed as Bilingual Home-School Liaisons (EDRS personnel type 39) Contracts are handled in the same manner as any other outside contract for special education services.